FourLeaf Clover
by SolidSnape
Summary: Merope is sitting alone in her secret place in the garden thinking about life, when she is sudden falls head over heels for a handsome Muggle named Tom, who has wondered into her Garden. One-Shot.


_I do not own Harry Potter in any way._

She was sitting cross-legged in the garden, hiding behind the hedges. A tiny fort, surrounded by bushes, and canopied by low growing trees. The perfect place to see and not be seen. It was her favourite place in the garden. It was quiet and peaceful here and was far enough from the tiny shack that she didn't have to hear her father and Morfin speaking ill of her…which they did on a regular basis. It didn't matter to them if she was outside tending to the garden or standing in the same room as them, they loved to criticize her. She wasn't all that bad at magic after all. She had performed some extraordinary magic in her lifetime.

She'd made the vegetables in the garden grow fast. She conjured flowers out of thin air. She had once cleaned the whole shack using magic while her father and brother were out hunting. Of course when they arrived home four hours later they assumed she had done in manually, for they never saw her perform magic themselves. She didn't fully understand why she was unable to perform magic in front of them. Even the simplest of spells went wrong or didn't work at all…

Just the other evening in fact, while preparing the table for dinner she tripped and all the plates she'd been carrying shattered on the floor. Her father came running in from the sitting room screaming at the top of his lungs to mend the damn plates. She'd taken her wand, aimed it at the broken glass, but nothing happened. Her father proceeded to fix it himself, cursing loudly that he had produced a 'filthy squib' while Morfin laughed. She skipped dinner that evening to come to her special place to cry. She thought she ought to be used to it by now. They always treated her like dirt, but there was only so much she could take.

How she wished she could leave this place forever. Leave her family and her name behind her and start anew. There was nothing for her here after all. She would grow old taking care of her father until he passed away, cleaning his house and doing his chores. It wasn't the life she wanted for herself, but it was all she knew.

She closed her large brown eyes and lay across the grass, and imagined herself being swept off her feet by some handsome stranger. Someone who would take her far away from here, and love her…

She was awakened from her daydream by a clopping sound. She sat up straight and peered out through the hedges. The sound was getting louder and louder. Then suddenly she caught sight of a beautiful white stallion. The sound was coming from the horses hooves. She thought it strange, she'd never seen horses walking by the shack before.

Then she saw him, riding on the white stallion. The perfect image of prince charming. He was extremely handsome. The most handsome Muggle she had ever seen. He had shoulder length dark brown hair tied back in a short ponytail. His skin, pale and fair, and his eyes the shade of chocolate. He wore fine clothes and his boots were polished, as were his horses saddle and bridal. He must have been wealthy. Perhaps he was the one who lived in the mansion of Little Hangleton. She thought that she'd like to stare at him all day, but a second later, the image of perfection fell apart…

He was with someone. Followed close behind on a glossy chestnut mare, a woman of breathtaking beauty. Her golden hair fell down her back in loose ringlets, her bright blue eyes, full of life and happiness. She was slender and wore a dress of fine fabrics. She sat side saddle atop the mare, looking graceful and elegant.

"Tom? Who lives in that shack?" The woman asked. Her voice was soft, but had an arrogance about it.

"The old tramp Gaunt and his children. I'm sorry Cecilia, I must have took us down the wrong trail." He continued to ride the horse closer and closer to where she hid.

"Couldn't your father have them evicted from here, Tom?" Asked the woman.

"Unfortunately they were here long before us. They have the right to live where they may. They own this bit of land." sighed the man. He looked over at the shack. "It is quite an eyesore isn't it my darling?"

"It is indeed. Could we please leave? I don't think I can bare to look at it any longer."

"Of course, my love."

They turned their horses around and rode in the opposite direction. She watched the man until he was completely out of sight. Tom. What a perfect name. Oh what she would give to be in in shoes of the woman who rode beside him. She would give everything she had, just to be loved by him.

She looked down at her own clothes. Tattered grey rags, stained with mud and grass from working in the garden. Her hands were filthy and her legs were bruised and scratched. No, how could he ever want her compared to the beautiful young woman.

She sat for a long time thinking. What would her father say? She didn't have to think too hard. Him and his pure-blood obsession. If she fell in love with a Muggle, she'd never hear the end of it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a heavy golden locket with tiny emeralds forming a serpentine 'S'. It was the only proof of her blood status, though truthfully, it didn't matter to her at all, even if she was descendant from Salazar Slytherin himself. No, she would be here forever with her brother and father, cleaning up after them and cooking their meals. She decided that she ought to forget about Tom. He would never come and sweep her up, not her. She had no such luck…

"MEROPE! WHERE ARE YA? WHY AREN'T YOU IN HERE GETTING DINNER READY?"

She jumped. She had been so busy lost in her own thoughts, that she had completely forgotten the time. She was about to leave her hideout when she saw on the ground beside her a four-leaf clover. She picked it up and looked at it, smiling to herself. Perhaps it was time to start making her own luck…

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